by Rab Bruce’s Spider

Twitter @RabBrucesSpider

Mastodon: @RabBrucesSpider1 @Mastodon.Scot

D URING THE dark days of Lock Down, I rarely ventured outside, so I hardly used outdoor orientation apps. Since things opened up, I’ve been using them again, but I realised recently that I have barely mentioned them in this series of articles. Considering they relate to one of a blind person’s biggest issues, it’s time I rectified that.

The issue I’m referring to is knowing where you are, because there are few things a blind person fears more than becoming lost and having no idea of their surroundings. This is a really big deal, so having some help is critical for many visually impaired people (VIPs).

Getting around independently is always a challenge for anyone who is visually impaired, and I confess that, being totally blind, I rarely go out without a sighted guide, either in person or via my smartphone’s camera. However, even when out and about with help, I often still use orientation apps. This greatly reduces the number of times I need to ask, “Where are we now?”

I should say that the apps I am going to discuss are not the sat nav apps most people will be familiar with. Sat Nav apps are often used by blind people to get directions to a known destination, but orientation apps simply tell you where you are and what is around you, although most will work happily alongside a navigation app which provides turn by turn directions.

There is another reason why I was prompted to write about these apps. That’s because the undoubted Number 1 orientation app will not be available for very much longer, and may have disappeared entirely by the time you read this. Some years ago, Microsoft released Soundscape which quickly became a hit in the VI community. It provides superb feedback on your location, road junctions and which shops, schools, etc are around you. It also gave this in audio format by sounding in either your right or left ear to indicate which direction the named place was.